At the end of Rio+20 itʼs plain for the world to see that the transformational change we need was not delivered. We saw an epic failure of responsibility at Rio. Rio+20 should have been be about zero deforestation, an energy revolution based on renewable energy and energy efficiency, about healthy oceans, liveable forests, and ecological food for all. Instead, it delivered no action, no targets and too many weasle words. The Oceans Rescue Plan for the High Seas, for example, was bulldozed by an unholy alliance of the US and Venezuela, together with Russia and Canada, at 2am on Tuesday morning.

Rio+20 will go down in history as Greenwash+20. There is no good news in the official negotiation outcome. But there has been good news over the last two weeks. The campaign to introduce a zero deforestation law in Brazil grew from strength to strength at the People´s summit - with thousands signing up to join a coalition which has the support of indigenous peoples groups, faith leaders and environmental organisations, as well as those most Brazilian of national heroes – some of their most famous footballers.

And today, unlike 20 years ago, more solutions are proven and exist at scale. The energy sector is already changing, for example. In Germany, 81% of all installed power capacity in the last decade was renewable. Last year, investments in renewable energies globally were higher than investments in old and dirty fossil fuel technologies.

Action for the environment is popular. That is why citizen power is achieving real change around the world. A referendum in Italy stopped nuclear power last year. Old coal-fired power stations in the US are being decommissioned and new ones stopped by an unprecedented alliance of grassroots groups, federal regulators and investors who no longer believe the lie that “coal is cheap”.

As the warnings of 20 years ago are turning into reality and the Arctic is melting at a shocking speed, opposition is also building. Here at Rio, Greenpeace launched a new mobilization to save the Arctic yesterday. It is our signal of hope against the despair of the official outcome. After Rio+20 the world needs people to mobilize and force change. The Arctic will be a first key battleground. It needs masses of people from around the world to stand up and demand action to protect it. A ban in the Arctic on oil drilling and industrial fishing would be a huge victory against the forces that won out at Rio+20 and would provide a future for the four million people who live there.

Beyond Rio+20 lies a road worth taking: Through a groundswell of public mobilisation, social movement alliances, smart businesses investing in the future and enough governments daring to lead by regulating effectively and banning unsustainable practices, a liveable future is still in our grasp. Rio+20´s failure is above all a call to action. We still need a global deal to tackle the threats of climate change and ecological destruction, and the miseries of poverty, hunger, disease and inequality. But to make that happen, we will need to make it impossible for our leaders to do anything less.

I will certainly not miss the endless meetings in windowless rooms that led to this summit. I can´t wait to spend more time with my daughters. But their future was gladly not decided over the last three days. Their future is decided by all of us, who must unite to build a movement of movements to force the future we want.

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(Unregistered) Arborphile
says:

Massive ongoing deforestation and the gutting of the Forest Code, damming the rivers in Amazonia and now, according to the FT, mining in the Amazon. ...

Massive ongoing deforestation and the gutting of the Forest Code, damming the rivers in Amazonia and now, according to the FT, mining in the Amazon. There seems to be no stopping the Brazilian Government's willingness to pander to industrial interests and destroy this critical natural resource and displace the indigenous peoples.

These depredations demand immediate worldwide action and sending a boat up the River is not the way to alert achieve this. More, much more needs to be done to bring this issue to the attention of the world.

The deliberate displacement of the indigenous people and the destruction of their habitat and way of life should be brought before the UN Commission on Human Rights and the actions of the Brazilian Government given much wider publicity that has been the case so far.

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(Unregistered) spe2100
says:

The other good news that has not been mentioned is also the groundswell of great work being done to not only initiate action, but to also put together...

The other good news that has not been mentioned is also the groundswell of great work being done to not only initiate action, but to also put together a globally coordinated plan to make it happen at all levels.

For instance, Gower recently published a book entitled Plan for the Planet, which highlghts and builds on the work being done around the world to build a sustainable world. This includes the Earth Charter, the Millenium Goals, as well as proactive business, government and community intitiatives, and brings these to together into a coordinated plan. Lester Browns work in Plan B, also looks at these opportunites.

Rio+20 is therefore alsa a wake up call for everyone to get involved in building s sustainable planet - as we now have a clear demonstration that conferences of politicians and the like are clearly not going to achieve this. With only one planet, however, we cannot afford to fail. Rio+20 therefore clearly deomnstates its going to be up to everyone else to make it happen.

The work being done to develop an overall plan to make sure we can coordinate all of our efforts is therefore going to be key be our success - and that also is also starting to happen. We actually now are starting to develop all the ingreadients required to turn the current alarming situation on our planet around. Thats actually is very good news!

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(Unregistered) Béatrice
says:

n 2012, Energy Cities initiated a process aimed at making and debating proposals for accelerating the energy transition of European cities and towns. ...

n 2012, Energy Cities initiated a process aimed at making and debating proposals for accelerating the energy transition of European cities and towns. These proposals are based on innovative approaches, new ideas and groundbreaking practices. They provide practical answers and link today’s action to the long-term vision of a low energy city with a high quality of life for all.

The 30 mind‐boggling proposals tackle the following five key areas:
- Empowering local actors;
- Knowing our territories’ resources and flows;
- Rethinking finance in general;
- Inventing a new local governance;
- Urban planning as a way of reducing energy use.

More info and access to the Energy Cities's Booklet of Proposals :
[en] www.energy-cities.eu/30proposals
[fr] www.energy-cities.eu/30propositions

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(Unregistered) Michel ODIKA
says:

Interesting analysis…
UNCOMPROMISING ADVOCACY FOR A NEW DEAL. What is the big challenge today? Increasingly, environmental safety and sustainable development constitute major public expectations across the world. However, a public expectation, it has to be said, not of poetry as such but of political positions variously approvable by mutually disapproving groups – e.g. environmentalists, NGOs, civil society, business world, states, local authorities, international institutions, etc.
BEYOND VESTED INTERESTS. How to overcome the above-mentioned challenge? In my opinion, the biggest challenge lies not so much in developing new ideas – i.e. environmental safety, sustainable development, green economy, etc. – as in getting rid of old concepts. So to speak, the next move is always the test. Otherwise said, the secret of getting ahead is simply getting started. That, in itself, is the chief reason why I campaign for environmental safety and sustainable development. For example, I’m actively engaged in protecting the Congolese Forest – see “Bassin du Congo: enjeu écologique et géostratégique du 21e siècle” (http://cahiers.blog.tdg.ch/archive/2009/12/07/bassin-du-congo-enjeu-ecologique-et-geostrategique-du-21e-si.html).
Michel ODIKA (Congo-Brazzaville)